A little bit about Christmas

Christmas was very successful and fabulous. Noah was so spoiled from Santa, his parents and collective Grandparents that he was a bit overwhelmed with the new fun toys around him. He could not decide what to play with next and then next. He is one happy boy. When we talked about that it was Jesus's birthday, he started singing "happy birthday" and pretended to blow out candles for him. He got the idea a little bit.

Noah on Christmas. Overwhelmed with all the new adventures ahead.

Noah and Kersten on the stairs coming down on Christmas morning. Notice the Lightsaber that has not left his side since his Uncle Jason F* gave it to him Christmas Eve. Noah played in his bed with his Lightsaber until almost 10 pm

Die cast Cars from the movie Cars. He is set for a long while with cars

Buzz Lightyear to match the same size as his Zurg. Notice what a good flyer he is

Tools. Now he can be just like Bob the Builder

Some Family Cheer

We took some family pictures back in October. Just wanted to share. Merry Christmas
Love you all

Anniversary of getting engaged

I am one of those blessed women who married a man
that makes her knees weak just by looking at him.
I am so lucky to have found and loved a man like him.
9 years ago today we got engaged.
And just because I want to I am going to tell you the story.
We had planned for a couple weeks to go see the lights
At Temple Square in Salt Lake.
I got off work a little late so I wasn’t quite ready when he picked me up.
As I was running around like a chicken he showed the ring to my sister Amy.
So after that my family knew what was happening.
He seemed really quiet in the car.
But true to myself I chattered away in the car, oblivious to his nervousness.
We walked along pink avenue first by the Assembly Hall.
He slipped the ring into his coat sleeve while I was looking away,
Because he was worried that I would feel it in his coat pocket.
We wandered for awhile holding hands, kissing, talking and looking at the lights.
We walked up along the side of the temple and at the end of the lane
There is a big pine tree that most years they cover with red lights.
I exclaimed “Oh, I love the Red tree”
So he thinks “Perfect place, right by the temple and her favorite tree”
So he stops and says he needs to tie his shoe
So he kneels down in front of me to tie his shoe
And I think how nice I will be and go behind him to rub his shoulders
He stands up and says ”Oh I need to tie my other shoe.”
He kneels down and pulls out a burgundy velvet box
He looks at me and I instantly start crying
He says “ Laurie, Will you marry me?’
He stands up and hugs me
And I just continue to cry
He whispers
“Well, will you”
I jump up and down and say “yes, yes, yes”
He slips the ring on my finger.
And it is perfect
Kersten picked it out all by himself
I gave him a couple ideas of what I liked
I am still proud of his choice
It is a classic round solitaire
Where the gold band twists around the diamond
I love it still.
I had left handitis the rest of the night
We were engaged for 5 months
I am so happy that I married this man
He makes me laugh every day
He loves me inspite of myself
And throught the struggles of life stands by me
And we get through them together
I love you my housband
(Random Picture from his birthday this year)

More Beautiful Men from Hollywood

I wanted to finish my hot men from hollywood post. I had problems with my pictures last time so here we go with a couple more hotties

Eric Bana
Intriguing. Has some fabulous moments

Brad Pitt
Beautiful all the time.

Daniel Clegg
Kind of interesting looking. But oh so sexy in Casino Royale

Ewan McGregor
Fell in love with Moulin Rouge, Down with Love and Star Wars

Matthew McConaughay,
I had a friend once tell me that my husband looks like him a bit. I agree HOT!

Sorry pictures are so pixelated

One Word

Yourself: crazy
Your Partner: hilarious
Your Hair: frizzy
Your Mother: helpful
Your Father: acting
Your Favorite Item: book
Your Dream Last Night: coloring
Your Favorite Drink: diet coke
Your Dream Car: mustang
Your Dream Home: organized
The Room You Are In: basement
Your Ex: smart
Your Fear: failure
Where You Want to be in Ten Years: Mother
Who You Hung Out With Last Night: husband
What You’re Not: bored
Muffins: yummy
One of Your Wish List Items: music
Time: 2:31
The Last Thing You Did: work
What You Are Wearing: yoga
Your Favorite Weather: jacket
Your Favorite Book: Anita
Last Thing You Ate: milk
Your Life: busy
Your Mood: sleepy
Your Best Friends: faithful
What Are You Thinking About Right Now: friends
Your Car: corolla
What Are You Doing At The Moment: typing
Your Summer: flood
Relationship Status: Forever
What Is On Your TV: Toy Story 2
What Is The Weather Like: cold
When Is The Last Time You Laughed: today

Favorite Christmas Movies

I have been thinking about films a lot recently and I wanted to share some of my favoite Christmas movies. I am typing with a 2 year old on my lap so forgive me for any typing errors

Elf came out the winter I was pregnant with Noah. We went and saw it on my birthday that year. I love the one liners in this show and his innocence. For example" You must really like Sugar!, Is there sugar in Syrup? THen YES" ha ha. love this film

Muppet Christmas Carol is so hilarious. I love watching this as I set up my tree. The songs are so funny. The muppets make me so happy. We just laugh and laugh at this at our house.

White Christmas is one from my childhood that I love. My sisters and brother used to act out the act of the song "Sisters". I love Bing Crosby's voice. The story also is so entertaining and classic old school hollywood.

Had to add some more Romance

My husband reminded me of a couple of our favorites that I forgot. So here we go


French Kiss, my husband got really upset when he saw my blog and did not see this movie on there. We watch this movie a lot when we were dating and it is one of the only romantic comedies my husband will ever watch

Casablanca, Kersten's favorite classic movie. He loves the Ingrid Bergman. We even had pictures taken that we used on our wedding invite that were in the 1940''s syle of Casablanca
"> 3 comments:

Most Romantic

Okay so I have been tagged to talk about my favorite romantic movie moments. While I agree with all the other ones said I found a couple more and have some the same.



You've Got Mail. They are both so cute and I Love her Sheets on her bed in this movie. I love the look on her face when she realizes that it is who she wanted and everything come together. They talk about the next movie in it also



Pride and Prejudice the entire story. Your heart just pounds wondering whether Elizabeth and Darcy will ever finally get together. This scene does not disappoint.


To copy a couple of other people. Phantom of the Opera. The music, the costumes and the story make this entire movie so romantic. The scene with Raoul and Christine is my favorite though.



The Notebook. This is my absolute favorite novel by Nicholas Sparks. The scene where he takes her to see the swans and it starts raining. I love this movie. Even more romantic is that he reads her there love story every day to help her remember. Oh it kills me. And the main characters name is Noah. :)



Anne of Avonlea, okay who can beat that last scene on the bridge. When finally Anne and Gilbert get together. I have rewound this scene to many times to count.

Beautiful Women from Hollywood

Audrey Hepburn

Kate Beckinsale

Scarlet Johanson

Emmy Rossum

Ingrid Bergman

My Beautiful Grandma

Anyone who knows me even a little bit, know how much I LOVE my Grandma. She is my mother's mother. She is one amazing woman. As a child and now as a woman I revere, admire and respect her. She has always been my hero. I believe one of the greatest compliments I have ever received is that someone told me once that I look a lot like my grandmother. Her house was always fun. We played many games and tormented all the cousins in her basement. It was a place of constant comfort and stability. Now it feels like one of the few places from my childhood that feel like home. In high school and the beginning years of college in the summer I would ride my bike to her house and go walking with her in the morning. These are some of my most precious memories. We would walk and talk, she would listen to my endless prattle about boys, school and life. And when Kersten and my relationship kept growing she would rejoice and counsel with me. I learned so much about her and my Grandpa at that time. They are seriously the Greatest example of True Love through every struggle in life. I miss walking with her now that she is older. Whenever I need a boost I want to see my Grandma and just hold her hand and talk with her. She is a lady in all aspects of that word. I love her so very much

4 of my top 10 hot men in hollywood

Christian Bale, Johnny Depp, Heath Ledger and Patrick Dempsey

Enough

">
I have perceiv'd that to be with those I like is enough,
To stop in company with the rest at evening is enough,
To be surrounded by beautiful, curious, breathing, laughing flesh is enough,
To pass among them or touch any one, or rest my arm ever so lightly
round his or her neck for a moment, what is this then?
I do not ask any more delight, I swim in it as in a sea.

There is something in staying close to men and women and looking
on them, and in the contact and odor of them, that pleases the soul well,
All things please the soul, but these please the soul well.
_Walt Whitman in Leaves of Grass

Gratitude

Today is the day for thankfulness and gratitude. First of all I looked up some interesting facts on the Pilgrims. When they first arrivied here in America they only had 5 curnals of corn to eat a day. They lost over half of the people that came over here in the first year. For the first Thanksgiving Feast they sent 5 men out to hunt "turkeys" but they call all sort of fowl turkeys. So they had chicken, duck, pigeon and even swan. They also had a lot of seafood. The feast lasted for 3 days. They had a rough time after that and did not have another thanksgiving for a long time. It was not until Abraham Lincoln that there was an official thanksgiving day proclaimation, It would be the 26th of November every year. Franklin Roosevelt changed it to be the third thursday in November. I really enjoyed learning a lot more about this holiday. It has turned into one of my favorite days of the year.

In honor of this great day I am going to write my top 10 things I am grateful for

!. The Gospel, especially the atonement and the effect it has on everyone's life. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that he loves me. I am grateful that I grew up with the knowledge of the gospel. I am extremely grateful for the blessings of the temple. And that we can be together forever.

2. My husband Kersten, who knew that when we met at 16 he would be so important in my life. He is my perfect match. He makes me want to be better, happier and whole. I love him. The last 8 1/2 years have just flown by and I can't wait to live the rest of forever with him

3. My Miracle Son, Noah, He is the joy of my heart. He tests and fulfulls me everyday. I love watching him learn and grow. His bigs hugs and kisses make my soul burst with love.

4. My Country, I feel blessed to live in this great land where freedom reigns and we all have the agency to make our own choices, to own land and practice whatever religion we choose,

5. My extended Family on both sides. I am blessed to live close to my sisters and brother and my mom and dad and spouses. I love being near them and have close relationship with them. I live two streets away from my in laws and they have been invaluable to me and my family.

6. Friends: I have been blessed to have many TRUE and real friends in my life. I could not make it without them and I know they should know who they are.

7. Books: I am addicted to the written word and love my books. I count them among some of my greatest treasures. I am constantly reading and it is one of the ways that make me who I am.

8. My creative outlet: this includes scrapbooking, stamping, cardmaking, my blog, painting my furniture, coloring and all the other things I continually try to do. This helps me feel like I accomplish more than dishes, laundry etc. It is such a part of me that it helps me breath.

9. My obsessions: okay I know it sounds weird. But life is so much more exciting if you are passionate about everything. I love to just ride the wave of my current fasination and learn all I can. Why fight it or feel frivoulous it is not going to change how I feel. So I just enjoy it

10. My house, community, ward and neighborhood: I have not strayed far from where I grew up and I love where I live. I know eventually we will move away but for now I am grateful for the familarity, the sameness, the safety and beauty that I live in. I love my little humble house and love that Noah has a small place to play and that it is starting to feel like home.

11. My health and sight: I struggle with both and it is a constant reminder of the blessings in my life. It is a poignant gift that my Heavenly Father has given me.

Happy Thanksgiving! Have a wonderful day and don't eat to much Turkey.

Early Thanksgiving and B-day Party

Tonight my Mom Jeanne and her husband Al had us all over for Thanksgiving. We also celebrated my birthday and my brother Nik's. His birthday is four day before mine. We had a club when we were kids called the November birthdays. Anyway, my mom has been so funny about my birthday about a mysterious surprise. She was so excited and kept talking about this fun thing that was happening. So right before we pray, the doorbell rang and Anita Stansfield, one of my favorite people and my definite favorite author, her husband Vince and their daughter *A walk in for the party. Anita says to me, Well, Happy Birthday Laurie, we are here for the party."

I have met Anita and been around her enough to know that she is just a normal, talented, amazing woman. I try so hard not to be awe struck and act silly about her and her books. I usually can't handle not asking questions about the characters running around in her head for long. She gave me her newest book "A Dance to Remember" which was on my list for birthday wishes. Now as she says I have an autographed copy. It was so fun to have her there. Her husband is so funny and him and Al tease that they are brothers they get along so well. We teased them tonight that when they get old they will be like the men in Second Hand Lions.
The food was marvelous as it always is at their house. The top picture is of Spencer my Nephew eating the drumstick. He was very enthusiastic about the turkey. I went around and took pictures of each family as they sat and ate. I totally felt like my mom. She was the one doing that in all the years past. Anita laughed and said "Most of us do turn into our mothers eventually". We all sat around talking afterwards. IT was fun to sit and laugh with my sisters and brother and spouses.


We opened presents after awhile. My mom had framed a picture my brother had drawn of Noah that he had given me for Christmas in 2004. It made my heart melt. It is so beautiful. Now just to find the perfect spot in my house to hang it.
NIk and Lena gave me the cute penguin Mumbles from the movie Happy Feet. It came with a birth certificate and they named if for me "McDreamy" to make it a bit more exciting. It made me laugh. And there was also an egg when you unzip it a baby penguin comes out. It is irresistable for someone like me who has loved penguins forever.

Overall, it was a very fun evening. Noah was beside himself coming home. He wanted to play with Papa Al's big laser tag gun some more. Thanks Mom and Al for the fun surprise and for the yummy dinner. I am very thankful.

Jason and Verity Wedding

My husbands Brother Jason and his woman Verity got married yesterday. It was a beautiful day. The weather was not to cold and everything went according to schedule. The temple of course was the best part. Kersten was a witness so it was the first sealing we had been to together that we did not sit by each other.



Noah had to bring his Buzz Lightyear and we had the stroller that everyone used as storage. My stepdad Al took the pictures. I followed him around as he took pictures and help him postion the dress etc.



They had their luncheon and a ring ceremony at the Plaza hotel, where Kersten and I had ours. It was fun to be back there again. It was really neat to hear their vows they wrote. Jason actually pulled out his guitar and sang "Baby I'm Amazed" by the Beatles and Verity wrote some beautiful words and feelings she has for Jason. The food was really good they had Cordon Bleu, mashed potatos, salad, vegtables and cheesecake. Kerst gave a pretty funny toast as the best man. Jason was his and 14 at the time his toast was "Kersten is a good brother." so Kersten elaborated on that and said the Jason was a good brother and pretended to sit down. I found it kind of funny and then he continued on.



They had their reception at a ward house so between everything we went and helped set up. They served donuts, glazed and chocolate cake. They had the Acheivement day girls serve the food. I went into the kitchen during the reception and one of the girls asked how everyone felt about the "theme" and colors of the wedding. It made me smile because as girls we start dreaming about becoming a bride as soon as we know what one is.


It was a beautiful day. Congrats Jay and Ver

Fits

Noah has now more officially hit 2 than ever before. He is defying every single boundary or limit that has ever been set for him. This picture is an example of him not wanting to get dressed in the morning. Notice it is his Buzz Lightyear pajama top that is sitting around his diaper. Also he has that mope master face of huge upset because how dare mom change his clothes in the morning. The day he turned 2, I did notice a difference in him. It was like he knew now that he was suppose to be terrible. The last three weeks have tested me as a mother. My patience, tolerance, understanding and discipline have been throughtly tested. I have never been a person of great self discipline and when things in my life made me be so I push and pull and fight against this. I am not proud of it. It has become something I have learned to accept about myself. Since I know I am this way, I try to do the things I know I should without feeling rebellious over them. Any mother who has been through this phase of their child's life knows exactly what I am talking about. So for now I will continue to love my son with all I have, be as consistant as possible and try not to pull my hair out. The moments that he becomes my sweet boy again make it worth it.

Halloween!

We had a fabulous day yesterday for Halloween. Kersten team at work decided to dress up like witches. Kersten got really into it and borrowed an Ariel wig and witch hat to spice it up a bit. He also got an ugly nose and wore my red and white striped socks. He was pretty excited and I think he looked fabulous. After running around all day, taking Noah to Daddy's work, Mommy's work, and variious places to show off his costume. And already getting tons of candy. We went to Kersten's parents to show them Noah and we got to see Josh in his Big Bird costume. Noah had a fit when we left because he wanted to play. We then drove out to my sister Emilee's house to trick or treat. Kristin and Spencer were so excited to show Noah how it is all done. Noah figured it out pretty fast that when you went up to the door and yell "ik o eet" the people will open the door and give you candy and tell you how cute you are in your Mickey Mouse costume. He lasted a really long time. Afterwards we stopped by my Grandma Shepherd's for donuts and hot chocolate (which is a tradition as long as I can remember). Holidays always seem to have us running around like crazy. But we had a lot of fun. Other than last night we had gone to our ward party last sat, my sister's trunk or treat the saturday before that, and a friends Halloween party. We made sure to live it up. Hope your day was as fun as ours was.

Jack O' Lantern

For Family Night tonight we had a lesson on the Harvest and how Heavenly Father helped us to make things grow so that we had food. Afterwards, we carved Noah's Pumpkin that he received from the Great Pumpkin on our doorstep. Last Saturday, we went outside and on our porch there was a pumpkin with a note that said " Hello, I am Noah's Pumpkin, Happy Halloween." Mom helped get all the stringy, ikky stuff out of the insides. Noah kept going "ik ik" If the strings accidently touched him he would freak out until it was taken off. He had an ice cream scoop to "help help" with the seeds. He had to scoop and dump them into the bowl. It was a very serious business. Dad then helped to make the face. WOW! We really like our pumpkin. It was the coolest when we got to light the tealights inside with fire. Noah kept blowing them out so that we would light them again. Before the closing song we sang "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." Noah jumped up and down for joy when Mom and Dad were doing it. Overall, It was a pretty successful night. Now Kersten is roasting the seeds so we can have a delicious snack. Hooray for Pumpkins.